On this page we attempt to make available the experience of individual bicycle tourists who have travelled with Malaysia Airlines (you can share your experiences here).
Airline Bike Policy
We travelled from Adelaide - Australia with Malaysian Airlines to Kuala Lumpur, KLM to Amsterdam, and Aerlingus to Dublin in August 2005.
We were told By KLM (who issued the tickets) bikes would cost 80 Euros and MUST be boxed.
When my partner left 2 weeks before me she was charged A$140.00 as the Quantas staff acting on behalf of Malaysian Airlines who ran the flight on behalf of KLM ... insisted the bikes was excess bagage..!! 2 weeks later when I left there was no charge....!!
On the way home the 80 Euros charge was confirmed by KLM. But when booking in with Aerlingus who ran the first leg to Amsterdam on behalf of KLM the fee we paid was 25 Euros per bike.
Bikes were boxed and suffered considerable damage to the boxes each time - only minor damage was done to the bikes - scratches , broken tail & headlights. lunch papers and other rubbish had been pushed in through some of the many holes in the boxes on the way over.
Taipei / Taiwan - Kuala Lumpur - Rome with Malaysia Air
We left Taipei International Airport with Malaysia Air via Kuala Lumpur to Rome, Italy. We carried two packed touring bikes and many bags with a total weight of 80 kg (incl. the bikes).
The travel agent told us that the max. baggage weight with Malaysia Air will be 20 kg each in economy class. Later we called the counter at the airport that granted an extra bonus of 5 kg each without any arguments, allowing a total of 50 kg for the two of us.
Any extra kilo would be charged at check in with 882 NTD, thatâs about 25 USD, they said.
The big shock was when they wanted to weight not only the bags, but the bikes as well. But amazingly the balance measured a total of 49 kg only.
Afterwards on arrival in Rome we measured our two pieces of hand luggage (nobody cared about their heaviness before) and they made an impressing 30 kg together!!!
Excess baggage charge for bicycle
I just finished a bike trip in Eastern Europe in August. I had an excellent trip except my baggage story. I flew with Malaysia Airlines with a bicycle from Taipei, Taiwan to Amsterdam.
When I flew back from Amsterdam, they charged me overweight fees for 10 kg and 1 kg is 48.3 Euro. That is 483 Euro. I found this to be an extraordinary amount of money, especially since I was under the assumption my bicycle could travel for free, as it had done on the first flight.
I reluctantly paid the 483 Euro, which is they insisted on "excess baggage charge" policy.
I wrote a letter to Malaysia Airlines head office in Malaysia to ask for a partial or full reimbursement back. I asked nicely to see bicycles in the sport equipment category and should be charged by piece, not charged by weight.
Of course, I didn't get any money back. They described their baggage policy again and ignored my point. I paid 700 Euro on my air ticket, and I had to pay 483 Euro on the overweight fees of my bicycle. That's what I get with cheap flight.
I would not recommend flight with Malaysia Airlines who will travel with sport equipments. The service on the plane is good but the attitude and the way they dealt with my issue is bad.
Make sure the airline's regulations before you go. I paid for the lesson!